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Australia:
Wilson's Promontory
By Dawnelle
Salant
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July 2006
| Australia
has no shortage of national parks providing magnificent scenery.
When it comes to wildlife, however, one stands out from the rest – Wilson’s
Promontory National Park. Referred to as The Prom, this national
park protects 50,000 hectares of diverse landscape; untouched beaches,
swamps and rainforest.
A small fee,
$9.50 per car is payable upon entry to the park in return for which we
get several brochures explaining more about the area and outlining the
available walks. Although we are planning to do most of our exploring
on foot, our rental car is coming in handy as the park is huge and a car
is needed to get to and from the various walking trails. En route
to our first walk of the day, we soon encounter wildlife - huge emus, their
brown and black feathers standing out against the green of the forest,
graze near the side of the road. In the distance, we can see several
kangaroos hopping away into the trees.
The first trail
we stop at is the Lilly Pilly Gully Circuit. The trail begins in
a rainforest where enormous eucalyptus trees tower over us, making the
palm trees seem like miniatures. It’s October - Spring down under,
and the green forest is punctuated by flashes of colour as the flowers
mark the start of the new season. Massive boulders are scattered
randomly throughout the forest and in one place, a tree has etched great
cracks in the rock where it has grown through the centre. A crimson
rosella, showing off its vibrant red and blue feathers, teases us with
its shrill call. We stand still, and eventually the bird comes close
enough that I think it’s going to land on my proffered arm; it doesn’t.
Our next stop
is the famous Squeaky Beach, a short walk from the main road.
Beautiful and white it looks like any other beach, until my first step
produces a muted screech as my running shoe tentatively digs into the dry
sand. With each stride, the noise becomes louder and louder until
my steps undeniably create loud squeaks. The sand here is almost
pure quartz, and as the rounded grains are rubbed together with each footstep,
they produce this unique sound. Everyone is running around, giggling
as their feet hit the sand.
I admit I came
to The Prom because of its reputation for excellent wildlife, but what
we meet on the way back to the car is not exactly what I had in mind.
The path is made of the same white sand found on the beach, and is surrounded
by bush on either side. Not five metres away sits one of Australia’s most
famous inhabitants – a snake. My heart immediately forgets its normal
rhythm and begins to hammer against my chest as if it’s trying to escape.
My whole body goes numb and I freeze on the spot. As my body fails me,
I urge my mind to remember all the things I read about snake encounters
before coming to this continent. All I can remember is not to move.
Done. Not intentionally, but there’s little chance I’ll regain control
of my limbs any time soon. The snake is slithering from one side
of the path to the other. Thankfully, it’s completely oblivious to
our presence and I’m able to watch as it moves effortlessly. It’s
big, and I’m not just saying that to embellish my tale, at least 6 feet
long, its head already disappearing into the bush before its tail
exits on the opposite side. Dark brown in colour it’s nearly as thick
as my arm and it stands out starkly against the white sand.
The whole
encounter lasts no longer than ten seconds, but it seems to take place
in slow motion. Eventually the snake disappears into the thick bush
and I realize I’m going to live. A strange sense of euphoria overwhelms
me and suddenly I have the energy to bolt from the danger zone to the car.
We drive to
the Visitor’s Center to see if they can tell us what sort of snake we’ve
just encountered. The Ranger, from the location we give, verifies
that it was most likely a copperhead. And yes, it’s a poisonous snake.
“You see more
of them around in Spring when the sun is out,” she tells us. “Just be careful,
stay on the paths and you’ll be fine.”
I don’t bother
pointing out to her that the snake was on the path. Obviously snake
encounters to these people are more of a daily occurrence rather than a
once in a lifetime experience.
I know that
if I don’t get back out there now, I’ll never go for another walk so we
drive to Miller’s Landing Nature Walk, which is about an hours hike, with
me scrutinizing the ground before I put my foot down. It may be unnecessary,
but it makes me feel better.
I hear something
in the bush, much too loud to be a snake, and I forget my fear as it’s
replaced by curiosity. Which of Australia’s remarkable wildlife are
we about to stumble upon next? My question is answered as I
finally catch sight of the creature responsible for rustling the leaves.
It’s an echidna. We can only see the back end of the egg laying mammal
as it digs its nose into the soft earth surrounding a tree. Its light
brown spines lay flat against its back most of the time, but as it digs
more ferociously, they go rigid and stand up straight up. We try
to get a bit closer but the echidna hears us. After giving us a quick glimpse
of its pointy nose while it confirms that there are intruders nearby, it
nestles into the ground and doesn’t move again.
We continue
to walk up the path and it's not long before we see several small
wallabies munching away at the grass either side of us. They know
we’re there, but they don’t seem the slightest bit bothered by our presence.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so close to a wallaby -they look different
to the brown ones I’ve seen before. One is standing about ten feet
away from me.on his hind legs, looking right at me. is brown belly stands
out against the fur on his hands and feet, which is almost black. The rest
of his body is covered in gray fur, except for a spattering of white outlining
his face. He’s gorgeous.
The highlight
of the walk – the world’s southernmost mangrove habitat, is what comes
next. It’s low tide and we can see the roots of the huge mangroves
protruding from the sand. About a hundred metres from the shore lays
a series of round boulders, forming small islands. We walk out to
them and I’m surprised to find the top of one rocky outcrop covered in
grass speckled with yellow and purple flowers. In the distance black
swans swim around the round boulders that are completely surrounded by
water. It seems miles away from the rainforest walk we did only hours
ago and it’s hard to believe we’re in the same national park.
As we drive
back to the cabin we’re staying at just outside the park, the sun is setting
and dusk is upon us, which makes it the perfect time to see one of
The Prom’s most famous inhabitants - the wombat. The furry marsupials
are nocturnal, and the best time to spot them is just before it gets dark.
Just as we
are leaving the trail, I spot something in a field which looks much
like a big, gray boulder. It’s moving though and turns out to be
a wombat. It looks like a pig coverd in coarse, grey fur, but despite
his huge body and tiny little legs, it moves quite fast and disappears
when it hears us approach. Disappointed, we get in the car and start
driving again, but not a minute later spot another wombat grazing near
the side of the road. This time, the wind is on our side and masks
the sounds of our approach. We get close enough to have a good look
at the wombat and snap some decent photos. I t’s definitely not a pretty
species, but there is something adorable about its cute box nose, tiny
eyes and pointy ears - it looks almost like a puffed up cat. We see two
more wombats on the way home, as well as several huge kangaroos lounging
just off the main road. After the small wallabies, the kangaroos
look like giants. .-
Article
Continued Below - |
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- Continued
From Above -
Camping and
accommodation is available within the national park at the Tidal River
settlement, but there are plenty of cabins, B&B’s and hotels within
driving distance of the park’s entrance. Prom Gate Vista Cabins
www.promgatevistacabins.com.au
is one of the closest to the park’s entrance. This is where we’re
staying for the next two nights, and when I crawl into bed, I’m extra grateful
for the heated mattress liner. I’m not sure if it’s the cool weather
or the snake encounter, but somewhere along the way, I’ve picked up a chill.
As I snuggle
into the comfortable bed, I have trouble falling asleep. I keep replaying
the snake encounter over in my mind. When we first arrived in Australia
and I mentioned my snake fears to an Aussie, he laughed and said, “Mate,
if you see a snake, consider yourself lucky.” The more I think about
it, the more I realize that I was lucky to see such an amazing creature
in its natural habitat. If we’d been fifteen seconds later, we would
have missed the reptile all together. And it definitely wasn’t as
menacing as I’d imagined a venomous snake would be.
The next day,
we pack a lunch and decide to give one of the longer trails a go.
Our destination is Sealers Cove, a 20 kilometre return walk. Although
we don’t see nearly as much wildlife today, the scenery is breathtaking.
The trail is practically deserted and I feel as if we have the whole world
to ourselves. It’s another cool day and I’m grateful as the trail
winds up and down, getting our hearts pumping.
The trail
starts off in an area recently ravaged by firewhich makes for extraordinary
scenery. Most of the trees are blackened shells or stumps, and unlike
other areas of the park, here we can see for miles. Within the burnt
out areas, signs of new life are already appearing and bursts of vibrant
green break up the dark ground. Bright green leaves wind their way
up black branches and several white flowers announce hope as they sprout
from tufts of grass on the ground.
The trail leads
us on to a ferny glade with leaves that spread out over the path
in some places. I can hear the chirps of unseen birds flittering
in the forest canopy that is blocking out the sun. A small stream
meanders through the glade, spilling onto the path and making us jump like
children from stepping stones to dry ground.
Eventually
we come to a boardwalk that lets us walk over Sealers Swamp. On the
side of the path we spot several skinks sunning themselves on the grass.
Their small, stumpy snake-like bodies end so abruptly that it looks as
if they have had their tails chopped off. When we finally arrive at Sealers
Cove, we take in the brown sand backed by huge green hills; the choppy
water is foaming on the shore and there isn’t another human in sight.
Sealers Cove was actually used more by whalers and timber-cutters than
sealers, and all that remains of either industry are the stubs of posts
that once held up jetties, their black ends sticking out of the water,
which only adds to the desolation and remoteness of the cove.
As we drive
back to the cabin, pleasantly exhausted by our long walk, we see more wildlife.
Wallabies hover near the side of the road, an echidna digs near a post
and a wombat crosses the road in front of us. Wallabies scurry off
as we round a corner and the kangaroos and emus are in the same field where
we spotted them the previous day. Wilson’s Promontory has definitely
lived up to its wild reputation.
The next morning
we have time for one last walk before we’re off to our next destination.
In some ways, we’ve saved the best for last. The Mount Oberon Summit
walk is one of the more difficult routes, but the views are worth the extra
effort. At 558 metres, Mount Oberon is one of the highest points
on the island. The climb to the top is steady and although the scenery
along the way is not as spectacular as some of our previous walks, we do
manage to catch a glimpse of a black cockatoo. From the top, we have
views over much of the national park. Sight of the coastline is the
most rewarding and it’s in this direction I face as I plant myself down
on a big boulder to rest. Just off the shore, we can see the tips
of several large islands, the many others being obscured by the thick
fog rolling in from the open ocean.
As we sit and
watch, the fog creeps away from the islands, and makes its way inland,
covering the beach, the green fields and our view of Tidal River below.
Just as quickly, the fog all but disappears and we can see all the way
from the islands to the start of the Sealers Cove walk. With a sigh,
I take one last photo, and we slowly make our way back down. As we
drive away from national park, another wallaby hops across the road in
front of us - we take this as a farewell from all our wild friends in The
Prom.
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